Cult moves on

New York Times/May 2, 2003

Japan -- About 30 members of a cult who blocked traffic on a mountain road in the western Gifu Prefecture for almost a week began departing after the police warned that they could be arrested.

Followers of the group, Panawave, wear white from head to toe and drape trees with white cloth, which they say protects them from electromagnetic waves.

The caravan came to Gifu after spending eight months camping out along a lake in neighboring Fukui, according to the police there. That site was also left swathed in white sheets. It was not known where the caravan was headed next.